(MENAFN) A sudden failure in Iraq’s power transmission network on Monday caused a blackout across the entire country, the Electricity Ministry reported.

Mohammed Nema, the ministry’s undersecretary for production affairs, stated that technical teams are actively working to fix the problem and have begun restoring electricity gradually, with full service expected to resume within hours.

A ministry spokesperson explained that the outage resulted from an overload in the power system, particularly affecting Babylon province and the Shiite holy city of Karbala, where millions have gathered for the Arbaeen religious ceremony.

The spokesperson noted that soaring temperatures, unprecedented demand, and increased electrical loads caused transmission lines to disconnect, removing over 6,000 megawatts from the grid. This sudden loss led to a frequency spike in generating units, causing their automatic shutdown.

In recent days, Iraq has been enduring a severe heatwave, with temperatures reaching approximately 50 degrees Celsius in several areas, placing additional pressure on the country’s electricity supply.

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